I'll Cover You Reprise
by KuroSakura-chan
Summary: Everything had been going well. Kaiba Corp. could run itself, Mokuba had friends, and Seto had Bakura. And then it all ended in one moment.
1. Chapter 1

Title: I'll Cover You ~Reprise~

By: KuroSakura-chan

Summary: Things had been going well. Kaiba Corp. basically ran itself, Mokuba had plenty of friends, and Seto had Bakura. And then, one night, it all changed.

Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Genre: Angst, Drama, Romance,

Couples: Seto/Bakura,

Warnings: Yaoi,

Disclaimer: I do not own YGO.

…

-Seto-

He could only thank whatever gods may exist that Mokuba was not home.

_"Bye, Oniisan! I'm going to a friend's for the night! I'll call when I get there!"_

No, thankfully, Mokuba was off being a teenager, having fun with his friends. It was something that happened often, now. Especially since Seto had stopped hosting duel tournaments. While the tournaments had been ongoing, Seto couldn't risk something happening to Mokuba, not after what happened with Duelist Kingdom and when Bakura kidnapped him. Was having a little brother really that much of a weakness? Apparently it was.

But that was all over. No more tournaments for Seto. Sure, he continued creating dueling equipment, but he did not participate any more. After the incident in Egypt, they had all retired. Ryou was glad to escape from the troubles of dueling, which was made simpler by the fact that whatever magic had been activated split the Yamis from their Hikaris. Ryou no longer had Bakura in his mind. Yugi no longer had Yami in his. And Malik no longer needed to take medications for split personalities, because he no longer had one. Marik was free to roam the world, as terrifying as that may seem. However, he seemed to take a liking to Ryou, and with a few well-placed and backed up threats from Bakura, Marik had started to act like a normal person. Well, as normal as anyone in Domino is.

Right before the Egypt incident, when Bakura kidnapped Mokuba, Seto realized something. Whatever Bakura was up to, it wasn't as malicious as it seemed. Or at least, what the real Bakura wanted. Zork, the demon controlling Bakura, was the one that had all the malicious intentions. Perhaps it was the fact that Bakura gave back Mokuba that made Seto realize that Bakura didn't actually want to hurt him. Seto didn't really know, and now it doesn't matter.

Bakura was gone.

He'd been sitting on the stairs right inside the mansion when Seto returned from work. Not a strange coincidence, to find Bakura in the mansion. The strange thing was where he was at. He didn't like to sit on the stairs, said they were too uncomfortable in this age of comforts. Seto overlooked it. Now that he thought back, perhaps he overlooked too many things. Though, he had no idea why Bakura left, so there's no way he can look back and see if there were signs he missed. It wouldn't stop him from trying to figure it out, though.

_"It's over, Seto. I'm leaving."_

Those words would forever haunt Seto.

There was nothing he could do to stop Bakura-there never was when the thief had his mind set on something. Only Ryou had even a shred of a chance, and sometimes Mokuba, but never Seto. Once Bakura had decided something, Seto was simply along for the ride. There were many memories that were once great and would now sting every time they came to the forefront of his mind.

He'd been sitting on the stairs, in the same place that Bakura had been sitting. He had sunk down to the stairs when Bakura had walked out of the mansion, the sundown light giving him an angelic appearance, even as he broke Seto's heart. It was almost like Bakura was ascending to heaven, despite the fact that both he and Bakura knew that no place existed for either of them.

The sun was fully set now. It had been for awhile. Seto hadn't moved, hadn't stopped staring at the door, hoping that Bakura would come back through, and laugh at him, saying that he was an idiot for believing that he'd really go. Bakura hadn't come back, and in his heart, Seto knew he wouldn't.

That thought nearly pushed Seto over the edge, but a thought occurred to him as he felt his grip on his emotions slipping. If he'd left Bakura without a reason, Bakura would never let him be until he got at least a reason. Maybe not even then. So why should he allow Bakura to get away with it? Though, with the hours passed, the thief had plenty of time to get far, far away...Perhaps Ryou would have some information.

Having finally decided on a course of action, Seto stood and walked through the door, not pausing to look back.

A/N: Well? I hope it's not too bad...It's been quite awhile since I've written 3rd person YGO, after all...

Preview:

-Bakura-

He hissed and grabbed his head, running into the wall beside him.

Let me know what you think! R&R, please!


	2. Chapter 2

Title: I'll Cover You ~Reprise~

By: KuroSakura-chan

Summary: Things had been going well. Kaiba Corp. basically ran itself, Mokuba had plenty of friends, and Seto had Bakura. And then, one night, it all changed.

Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Genre: Angst, Drama, Romance,

Couples: Seto/Bakura,

Warnings: Yaoi,

Disclaimer: I do not own YGO.

To my readers...: You're only getting an update because I got a review from ! I am very displeased with all of you, adding this to your alerts but not reviewing...

To readers...: I would write out replies to your reviews, but won't allow that, so know that I am grateful. And yes, I did snatch the title from RENT, because it fit with what I'm planning.

Oh, and as a note, I'm using Akefia...I'm not sure if it's ever really used in the show, but I need another name for Bakura, and calling him 'Thief King' will drive me insane.

…

-Bakura-

Leaving Seto had hurt, there was no denying that, he knew. But he had to. It would hurt worse if he hadn't left. Akefia wasn't known for being kind to lovers, after all.

_'Pansy. Go back, you know you want to.'_ The voice rang through his head, and Bakura growled, ignoring it. It had been there since the Memory World, and he had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with whatever split him from Ryou, tormenting him for dragging the Thief King's soul back up. Unfortunately, if that happened to be true, then there was a good chance that Akefia would be coming into being soon. And Bakura would not allow him to be anywhere near Seto, Mokuba, or Ryou when that happened.

Bakura paused in his walk, glancing around. He was alone on the ship, which was good. He pulled up his right sleeve, staring at the bruises on his wrist. Akefia was hurting him in the real world now...It wouldn't be too long before Akefia split from him. He could only hope he'd be far enough away from Domino before that happened. Akefia wouldn't know how to speak any of the modern languages-or so he hoped-and he'd be able to lose the bastard in another country.

What really worried him at the moment was whether or not he would survive the split. Ryou had barely made it, and that was because Bakura was slightly bigger than he. Akefia was a deal bigger than Bakura, which made his likelihood of survival much lower. But he was Bakura, the great Thief King. He wouldn't die from something so small as another person splitting from his body.

That was what he kept telling himself, anyway.

Akefia snickered, listening in on his thoughts. _'I don't understand why you don't just go back. At least that way, if you die, you'll die with Set right there.'_

"His name is _Seto_, not _Set_." Bakura growled under his breath, knowing Akefia heard it. He always did when Ryou said anything aloud.

Another snicker. _'Is there really a difference? Other than time, of course.'_

"I'm not discussing this with you. Go away." Bakura grumbled, leaning onto the railing to stare at the water passing by. He could end this now...He'd never learned to swim. Ryou tried to teach him once, but the thought of being in so much water unnerved Bakura, who knew only oceans of sands. They'd probably never find the body, if he threw himself over. Well, maybe they would...If Seto wanted it enough, they'd search the entire world for him.

_'Don't think about stupid things like that!'_ Akefia nearly shouted, his voice taking on a commanding tone, and a shot of pain ran through Bakura's mind. Bakura staggered back from the railing, reeling from the pain. Another shot hit him, and he hissed, grabbing his head and running into the wall beside him. The pain stopped as he hit the wall, and Bakura sank to his knees, still holding his head. _'Don't think like that again. It's not fair of you to remove me from Life again.'_ With that, Akefia's voice faded from his mind, and Bakura glared at the railing for no real reason.

How had Akefia known how to do these things? Had he been awake for longer than Bakura had known and watched him torment Ryou? If so, why didn't he make any move prior to the Memory World? The separating magic...It was the only real explanation that Bakura could come up with that sounded even slightly plausible. And considering what having two souls had done to Ryou, it was probably for the best that Akefia hadn't surfaced prior to the Memory World. Three would've destroyed the delicate Hikari...

Thinking about Ryou upset him slightly. He felt depressed when he thought about how he left Seto, but Seto could make it through the pain. Hell, there was even a chance that Seto had already moved on in the four days Bakura'd been gone. It merely depended on how in love with Bakura Seto had been. Ryou, however...Ryou wouldn't be all right without him. He was the only family Ryou really had, since the boy's father was always off on some archaeological dig. True, Ryou now had Marik to protect him, and Malik and Otogi would keep an eye on him, in their own crazy ways, but it wouldn't be the same. That was another reason Bakura couldn't kill himself. He had to survive to make it back to Ryou, and be Ryou's big brother. Ryou had already lost his other family members; he wouldn't be able to stand losing Bakura too.

Bakura sighed and shook his head, trying to clear his mind and get the bangs stuck to his face from the spray of the ocean out of his eyes. He was thinking far too much, though it was actually quite common for him to do so. Just because the Pharaoh thought that Bakura was a homicidal bastard that spared no time for thought didn't mean it was true. Seto knew otherwise, as did any of the others who weren't part of the Fan Club of Doom. At any rate, dwelling on all of this would do him no good in the long run, as he couldn't do anything about what was coming.

He pressed his back against the wall and slid up, knowing that he looked sexy doing it. It never failed to turn Seto on. Of course, he had no one around to watch him, but he hoped that in Japan, Seto would be able to tell that he was seducing him, even from the middle of the ocean. Boy. Maybe he was a sadistic bastard...

…

-A Couple Days Later-

Well, that was simpler than he'd expected, thankfully. He thought there would be more security keeping people from sneaking into the United States, but apparently, because he had sneaked onto a tour ship, he wasn't questioned when he got off on the stop in Hawaii. He wasn't even sure as to where the hell in Hawaii he was, but he figured it would be far enough away, with very little chance of anyone being able to speak Ancient Arabic, that Akefia wouldn't be able to find his way back to Domino. He sincerely hoped that Akefia wouldn't be able to use the Millenium Ring, and he was sure he was right, because the Ring was his. Ryou could use it, but that was because he was Bakura's host. Akefia, however, did not get his hands onto the Ring prior to Zorc's meddling, so Bakura was sure that the Ring would be off-limits to the Egyptian.

Bakura slipped through the crowds of tourists, pocketing wallets as he passed. He needed some money, after all, to feed and house his body. Besides, what Ryou didn't know wouldn't hurt him. With the money collected, Bakura made his way to a hotel that would clearly not ask questions due to the nature of its usual guests, and collapsed in one of the rooms. He'd need the energy.

A/N: As always, let me know what you think! Sorry it wasn't longer, but my eyes feel like they're going to fall out, and I don't want to give too much away at once.

Next Chapter:

-Seto-


	3. Chapter 3

Title: I'll Cover You ~Reprise~

By: KuroSakura-chan

Summary: Things had been going well. Kaiba Corp. basically ran itself, Mokuba had plenty of friends, and Seto had Bakura. And then, one night, it all changed.

Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Genre: Angst, Drama, Romance,

Couples: Seto/Bakura, Marik/Ryou, Malik/Otogi

Warnings: Yaoi,

Disclaimer: I do not own YGO.

…

-Seto-

One week. A whole week since Bakura had walked out on him, and all he'd managed to find so far was that Bakura hadn't told Ryou where he was going, and had apparently sneaked onto a cruise ship.

The company had been willing to give Seto information on the passengers, but Bakura wasn't listed. Next they gave him a list of stops. Seto was in the process of having all the stops checked, but Bakura hadn't turned up yet. He was sorely tempted to get into his private jet and fly to Hawaii, the furthest place from Japan that the cruise ship was planning to stop, but he hadn't worked up the nerve yet.

After all, if he did find Bakura, what would he say? Bah, he knew what he'd say. He'd demand to know why Bakura had walked out. Why he hadn't given a reason when he left. Why he hadn't told anyone, even Ryou, where he was going. There was a lot he'd demand from Bakura.

Including demanding to know why it felt like Bakura was doing that damnable sliding up the wall thing. He'd needed a shower after that feeling, despite the fact that he didn't _see_ Bakura doing it.

Shaking his head to clear the thoughts, Seto sat back in his chair. He really didn't have anything else to do. Since Kaiba Corp. could run itself, Seto could devote himself to anything else he chose to. Before Mokuba got into high school, he divided his time between Mokuba and Bakura. Once Mokuba was in high school, he spent his time getting dragged along on Bakura's whims. Now he had nothing to do except search for Bakura.

"Oniisan?" Mokuba popped his head in the door to Seto's study. Seto looked up and waved him in. "Are you all right?"

That was a good question. If anyone had told him that Bakura's leaving would affect him this much, he would've laughed in their faces. That didn't change the fact that he was now focused solely on finding the thief and dragging him back to Domino to answer some questions. Yes, the dragging back to Domino was quite important.

"It's all right to be angry and upset, Oniisan." Mokuba perched on the edge of Seto's desk. "Though I still can't believe that Bakura didn't even tell _Ryou_ where he was going."

"Ryou Bakura doesn't lie, Mokuba. There's no reason he'd tell me that he didn't know where Bakura was going if he did know." Seto said, running a hand through his hair.

"I know that. It still doesn't make sense though. Did you guys have an argument or something?" Mokuba asked. Seto shook his head. If he and Bakura ever argued, everyone knew about it. The thief had an explosive temper, and he was known for making sure the entire city was aware that he was pissed off after an argument with Seto. Whether he went clubbing and ended up flirting with every male he saw, knowing that Seto would react badly and take his anger out on the male, or if he just blew up something. Seto had to up the bonuses for the city police to keep Bakura out of jail. Of course, that saved his jailors more than it saved Bakura.

There was a time where Bakura just threw bricks and other things through Kaiba Corp.'s windows. Seto counted himself lucky that time. It was easy to fix windows, not so easy to fix buildings that Bakura'd blown up. Other times, Bakura would just go to Malik and Otogi's and drink himself into oblivion.

Seto preferred that Bakura throw things through the windows rather than drink. Bakura may've been a spirit, but he still got sick from drinking too much. And dealing with a hung-over and pissed off Bakura was never high on his list of things to do.

"So no argument…" Mokuba sighed, trying to think of reasons that Bakura would leave. "It's not like Bakura to suddenly get cold feet and run off…"

Cold feet…It was something that Seto had thought of too. He didn't like the thought, but it was possible that Bakura simply didn't love him the way that Seto loved Bakura. Seto denied the thought, but that didn't change the fact that it was possible. Seto sincerely hoped it wasn't why Bakura had left.

Loud crashes in the hallway had Mokuba on his feet, his fists clenched before him. Seto followed him to his feet, though he stood normally, his hand slipping into the drawer on his left. Since Bakura had moved in, he changed some of the things about his defense system, including switching out the blanks he used to load into his gun to real bullets. He wasn't necessarily worried about Bakura trying to kill him, since he knew there'd be nothing he could do if Bakura did decide to end his life, but rather, he wanted to make sure that no nut-job that managed to get into his home could get near Bakura or Mokuba, both of which would come running at the thought of intrusion.

Seto's door was shoved open, Malik and Otogi parading in. Marik and Ryou were behind them, Yugi and the Pharaoh following. It was still mildly entertaining to Seto that he'd started referring to Yami as 'the Pharaoh' after spending all his time with Bakura, Malik, Marik, and Otogi. Even Mokuba called him the Pharaoh now.

Seto slipped the gun back into its drawer, not finding most of his guests as a threat. None of them were worth a gun, anyway. Besides, the only threat he perceived in this group was the Pharaoh, and with Yugi there, he knew that the Pharaoh wouldn't dare make a move against him. Or at him. Seto was not blind to the attraction the Pharaoh held for him, nor was he blind to the hatred the Pharaoh held for Bakura. Jealousy was an ugly thing, but apparently, Yami didn't understand that.

"We're here to help with finding Bakura." Marik said loudly, watching Malik and Otogi kiss Mokuba's cheeks. Those two were overly friendly, but they steered clear of Seto. There was apparently something about Bakura's claim on him that kept them from getting too close to him.

Ryou nodded in agreement with Marik, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. "I…Bakura is like my big brother, and I know how much he cares about you, so I need to know where he's gone, and why he's gone." The Pharaoh scowled at Ryou's back, causing Yugi to elbow him before Marik could see the look.

Seto nodded in acceptance, then turned to pin a glare on the Pharaoh and Yugi. "And you two?"

"We wanted to know if there was anything we could do to help." Yugi stated, elbowing Yami again as he rolled his eyes.

Ryou turned, glaring darkly at them. Well, he was mostly glaring at the Pharaoh. "No, there's nothing you can do to help. I'm sorry; Yugi, but Yami won't be any help. For one, Bakura hates him, and the feeling is more than mutual, you know that. So until Yami can get over his anger at being rejected, he won't be any help." Ryou said assuredly, and then he smiled softly at Yugi. "Of course, you can stay and help, if you like."

"Mr. Kaiba!" One of the servants that worked in the house ran to the door, all sense of decorum lost. "There's someone at the door, demanding to see you. He looks like Mr. Bakura, but…There's something different about him."

Seto was brushing by the servant before the sentence was finished. He stalked through his hallways until he reached the steps. 'Bakura' was standing at the foot of the stairs, except…it wasn't Bakura.

"Thief King…" The Pharaoh muttered from behind him.

A/N: Sorry for the late update! I don't have internet at home, so I can only update when I'm at friends' places. Let me know what you think!

Next Chapter

-Bakura-


	4. Chapter 4

Title: I'll Cover You ~Reprise~

By: KuroSakura-chan

Summary: Things had been going well. Kaiba Corp. basically ran itself, Mokuba had plenty of friends, and Seto had Bakura. And then, one night, it all changed.

Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Genre: Angst, Drama, Romance,

Couples: Seto/Bakura,

Warnings: Yaoi,

Disclaimer: I do not own YGO.

…

-Bakura-

I'm glad I chose a seedy motel to house me during this. Otherwise, my screams might have alerted someone who would call the authorities. It'd be difficult to explain this whole splitting thing. After all, it isn't normal for a person to split from another.

Then again, few things in Domino are normal. After all, there are two three-thousand year-old spirits wandering around with their own bodies, as well as Marik, a creation of Malik's anger and sorrow. So I don't think that we all qualify as normal.

Not that it particularly matters at this point in time, since I've bitten through my lip in failed attempts to keep my howls of pain quiet. I can feel my skin _stretching_ and tearing as it tries to make enough skin to become two people. The Ring is throwing its magic at the problem, helping to heal the tearing skin, and thus make more. If it weren't for the Ring, this process would probably kill me.

I've been brutally tortured before, but this pain eclipses all I've ever felt before. So much so that I pass out before the splitting is complete.

I wake once, very drowsy, and see Akefia sitting beside me, watching the T.V. I feel a brief bit of panic at seeing this, but with the haze I'm thinking through, I don't know why. He glances over at me, and I try to say something, but I'm being pulled back into the depths of sleep. He watches me drift off, and the last thing I see is a smirk on his sun-tanned face. Now how is it fair that he gets to be tan...?

The next time I wake, I'm immediately on edge. Akefia isn't in the room. There is, however, a note beside me.

Most of it is drivel about how strange this time is, and is written in hieroglyphics. The important part, however, is written in Japanese.

_**I am going to retrieve Set.**_

I don't know how he learned Japanese, but at the moment, that's not my problem. They're all in danger. Mokuba, Ryou, _Seto_...I have to get back to Domino before he does.

I open my link with Ryou, originally closed so he couldn't feel any pain and panic, so I can warn him and the others. Except the first thing I feel is Ryou's heightened emotions of panic and worry. He is worrying for me, and panicking because...Oh, Ra, no.

Akefia is already there.

I must've slept for quite awhile if he managed to get back to Domino already. I have to hurry back to Domino...

I focus on the Ring; the actual Ring back around Ryou's neck. All the hikaris have the actual Items, since we yamis don't need to have them to tap into their power. It always looks like the yamis have them, though, to protect our hikaris. The Ring responds to my mental brush, and Ryou realizes I'm tapping into it.

I feel his joy fill our link, but I ignore that for what I need to do. I hate transporting myself like this, but it's necessary at the moment. I take a deep breath and let go of my consciousness, allowing my body to fade so I can return to the Ring. Once back there, I focus on my consciousness again, reforming my body beside Ryou.

The whole precess is actually complete in about the blink of an eye, but it eats energy like nothing else. Ryou gasps as my legs give out under me, but Marik catches me before I can hi the ground. I let myself collect a bit of energy, ignoring the looks and questions being thrown at me, then push myself out of Marik's grasp. I stalk over to where Seto is standing at the head of the stairs, Akefia a few steps below him.

I put myself between the two, and find myself annoyed that Akefia is a few inches taller than I am. That isn't the problem at hand, of course, but I'm having trouble concentrating.

Which is apparently obvious by Akefia's laugh.

"You are still injured." He says in stilting Japanese. So, he's still having trouble speaking. "You should not be up."

"Don't speak to me like you care." I hiss, glaring death at him. "I won't let you near Seto."

Akefia frowns and glances at Seto, then back at me. His eyes then look over at Ryou, and I growl in warning. Immediately, his eyes are back on me. "I don't believe this...You really have developed a..." Akefia pauses, frowning. He can't think of the Japanese equivalent of whatever he wants to say, apparently. So he motions to his chest, where his heart is, and where my knife should be, if I could just find the energy to place it there.

"Of course Bakura has a heart!" Ryou declares, coming down to stand beside me, though my warning glare keeps him behind me.

"That's hardly true." A deep voice from the group behind me says. "Look, Seto, he's brought the actual Tomb Robber back. How is that appropriate?" I hadn't realized that the Pharaoh is here.

"No one asked your opinion, _Pharaoh_." Seto's angry voice makes me feel wonderful. I wish I could explain...

"He has developed one. He didn't have one originally. Zorc took part of me to create him, and a heart was conveniently left out. But, being around you-" Akefia motions to Ryou. "and Set-"

"_Seto_." I growl, cutting him off.

"Seto," Akefia amends. "has given him one. I suppose I had no reason to come back after all."

"You...You came back to do what? Protect us from Bakura?" Ryou asks tentatively. Akefia nods. "Then yeah, you have no reason to be here. Bakura is like my big brother now that Zorc is taken care of, and though he'll probably never say it, he loves Seto more than anything."

I manage to fight down anything that might be called a blush, but my anger flares as the Pharaoh snorts. Before I can do anything that would probably end in myself getting mind-crushed, Yugi steps in.

"Yami, that's enough! You have no reason to act this way, just because you're jealous! I'm sorry, everyone. I'm going to take him home." Yugi says, dragging the Pharaoh past me. He gives me a smile before glaring at the resisting Pharaoh. A part of me is proud of Yugi while another is perturbed.

Of course, all of me is annoyed as my vision goes blurry before everything goes dark.

A/N: Hm, I was planning to finish this fic with this chapter, but my fic-writing personality insists on making it five chapters, and says that that was a good place to end it. R&R, please!

Next chapter:

-Seto-


	5. Chapter 5

Title: I'll Cover You ~Reprise~

By: KuroSakura-chan

Summary: Things had been going well. Kaiba Corp. basically ran itself, Mokuba had plenty of friends, and Seto had Bakura. And then, one night, it all changed.

Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Genre: Angst, Drama, Romance,

Couples: Seto/Bakura,

Warnings: Yaoi,

Disclaimer: I do not own YGO.

A/N: Oh gods...I didn't even realize that I'd switched to 1st Person in the last chapter...Crap, crap, crap...

…

-Seto-

Watching Bakura sleep had always been something he liked to do. It wasn't something he got to do often, because Bakura wouldn't fall asleep unless he was around someone he trusted, and even then, he had trouble falling asleep first. He always woke before Seto did, or right after Seto begin to watch him. Said that Seto watching him alerted his subconscious.

So being able to watch him now was...calming, yet disturbing. Normally, he'd be awake by now, complaining that Seto woke him up. Seto didn't like the fact that Bakura was so out of it that he didn't notice.

Ryou promised that he'd be all right, that Bakura just needed to sleep after the splitting process. Seto recalled that Ryou ended up in the hospital after Bakura split from him. He remembered because Bakura had been panicked, not sure of what he could do to help Ryou. Seto had to tranquilize Bakura to calm him down.

It was the only time he'd tranquilized Bakura. It wasn't necessarily the only time he _tried_, but it was definitely the only time tranquilizing Bakura had worked. Bakura was livid when he woke after that incident, which is why Seto only managed it once.

Seto understood why Bakura would be wary of being tranquilized, as it would leave him extremely vulnerable to anyone around. Considering the amount of people Bakura had pissed off, it was a reasonable fear.

"You're watching me again." Bakura was staring at him, making Seto blink. Had he actually zoned out enough to miss Bakura waking? "Why do you always do that?"

Seto mused that question for a few moments. Should he tell Bakura that he thought the other was quite adorable when he was unguarded? No, that would be a disaster. So, unable to tell Bakura the truth, and Bakura would know if he was lying, he said nothing.

"Eh, it doesn't matter." Bakura started to push himself up, groaning with the effort.

"Stay down." Seto reached forward, placing his hand on Bakura's chest, attempting to keep him down. "Ryou says you need to sleep, that the process took a lot out of you. I've been given orders to keep you in bed for at least today." Bakura's brow rose at the thought of Seto receiving orders. "Were you aware that your hikari is quite forceful when he wants to be?"

Bakura laughed, laying back. His mirth wore off after a bit, and he looked around the room. "So, I'm stuck in bed for at least a full day?" Seto nodded, and Bakura scowled in annoyance. Seto found himself faintly amused by Bakura's annoyance, though he said nothing of it. "I guess it's my own fault, for using the Ring so drastically right after gaining back a little energy."

"That teleportation trick?" Bakura nodded. "How did you manage that, anyway? It goes against all the laws of physics."

"The Ring. It created this body and keeps it up. That's how I heal so quickly. Thus, this body is tied to the Ring, not your laws of physics." Bakura explained, holding his left hand up and staring at it.

"So the Ring can reform it wherever and whenever?" Seto asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, as long as I want it to and I have the energy." Bakura replied, dropping his hand and looking back at Seto. "Where's Akefia?"

Now...There was a question that Seto didn't want to have to answer. Ryou had told him not to worry about how Bakura responded to Akefia's location, but then, Ryou didn't have to worry about being killed for trying to keep Bakura in bed after he found out.

"With Ryou." Seto finally answered.

As he predicted, Bakura immediately sat up in bed, a growl deep in his throat. Seto quickly moved over, shoving Bakura back down and straddling him. It was the only way he could think of to keep Bakura in bed. Bakura growled, thrashed, and swore, but it wasn't long before his energy ran out and he collapsed back down. He glared darkly at Seto, swearing with his eyes that Seto would pay for this.

"How could you let that bastard be around Ryou?! What if he hurts him!" Bakura hissed, though Seto merely rolled his eyes in return.

"Do you really think that Ryou is that weak?" Bakura paused at that. "Besides, he has Marik with him, so if Akefia tries anything, Marik will protect him." Bakura continued to glare, but he didn't say anything to that. "Now, I have a few questions that need answering. Why the hell did you leave? I could've helped you! You could've at least told me where you were going, rather than say just say that we were over. What the hell made you think I couldn't handle hearing that Akefia was returning?"

Bakura merely blinked, looking surprised with Seto's rant. He hadn't realized that Seto had been hurt hearing about why Bakura had left. In truth, Bakura had never planned to return. He'd been prepared to die keeping Akefia away from all the people he cared about.

"No answer...I guess that's the only answer I'll get." Seto clambered off of Bakura, walking over to the bay window on the eastern side of his room.

"It wasn't like that." Bakura finally said after several moments of watching Seto bathed in the light from the sunset. It would figure that Seto didn't tell him that he'd already slept the whole day away. "I thought I wouldn't make it back." Seto didn't turn to face him, though Bakura could tell that he was listening. "Akefia is larger than me, and he had the opportunity to kill me during one of the weakest points in my life. I was prepared to die keeping him away from all of you, the ones I care about."

Bakura almost swallowed his tongue when he realized he'd actually said that aloud. But now it was out, and he'd have to take whatever Seto gave him as a reaction.

Seto turned from the window, his mouth opening, though he closed it before he said anything. He wasn't sure of what to say. It wasn't like Bakura to admit to feelings. He admitted to caring for Ryou, but that was different. Ryou was his hikari. Seto was his lover. Some things Bakura just didn't admit to, and caring for his lover, despite the title, just wasn't one of the things that he would normally admit to.

Bakura sighed, turning his head so his eyes faced the door. "I know it's...rare, to say the least, for me to tell you how I feel, but I feel like if I don't say it now, something's going to break, and it won't be fixable." Seto couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I really do care for you, Seto. I should have told you this before, but..." Bakura shrugged. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is that I tell you now. I had to leave. I couldn't let Akefia near you...He wasn't exactly a great lover to Set in Egypt. In fact, he was pretty much an asshole where Set was concerned. I didn't want anything to happen to you. You aren't Set."

Seto walked from the window and stood in Bakura's line of sight, blocking the door. "You don't have to say all of that."

"Yes, I do." Bakura responded. "If I don't explain myself, hell, even though I have, I can't blame you for throwing me out. It's what I probably would do."

"You aren't going anywhere. You're injured, and thus, you're staying put." Seto crossed his arms over his chest, making it obvious he wasn't going to budge from his decision. He wouldn't be Seto if he wasn't forceful. "Sleep. I'll get something to eat. And don't worry about Akefia. Marik has already gotten him a job at that club, and Ryou's stopped by to show that Akefia's settled in nicely. You've actually been sleeping for a few days." With that, Seto stepped out of the room, leaving Bakura's mind whirling with all the information he was just given.

They weren't fixed, that was something Seto knew for certain. It would take time to heal the wounds inflicted. After all, neither Bakura nor Seto were emotional people. Bakura often commented on Seto's stunted emotions. Still, they were working on it. At least he knew that Bakura hadn't left because he was sick of Seto. He left to protect Seto from Akefia.

Glancing back at the door to his room, Seto made up his mind. "This time, I'll cover you. I'll protect you and let you heal. Then, maybe everything will be fixed." Seto returned to his mission of retrieving food for Bakura. He had to start somewhere on his journey of protecting and healing Bakura.

A/N: Well, there is is. Let me know how it is? I don't like endings very much...


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